Separator



Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES GEORGE L. FOGLER, OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA.

SEPARATOR.

Application filed July 5, 1923.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, Gnonon L. Foornn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Tulsa, in the county of Tulsa and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Separators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the separation of fluid mixtures containing materials of different specific gravities, and its object is to provide a novel method and apparatus which shall operate on a principle radically different from that of centrifugal separators heretofore employed for similar purposes, and which may be operated to separate solids from liquids, or liquids from other liquids of different specific gravities, in a. rapid and inexpensive manner.

Separators now in common use operate on the eneral principle of placing the mixture to be separated in a bowl which is rotated at high speed so as to develop sufficient centrifugal force to throw the heavier inaterial radially to a greater extent than the lighter material. According to my present invention no moving parts operate on the mixture to be separated, but the mixture is delivered under a suitable pressure head to an apparatus which changes the movement of the fluid mixture from a st aightline advancing movement. to a whirling movement whereby the mixture is rotated rapidly around the axis of its path of movement. Such a whirling action, if produced under low pressure, would have only the effect of mixing the ingredients of the mixture more thoroughly together, but I have discovered that, when fluid mixture is defiected or whirled in a stationary channel under suflicient pressure to make the whirling movement very rapid. a separation occurs according to the specific gravity of the naterials present. I have also discovered that this separation takes place in a inanner contrary to the manner in which the same materials would be separated in a centrifugal machine of the whirling-bowl type. That is to say, in my present system the heavier materials are caused to approach the center of the whirling mass while the lighter materials are concentrated in the outer portions of the mass. This result indicates that the action of centripetal force in the whirling material is greater than the oppositely acting centrifugal force, and I Serial No. 649,628.

therefore prefer to term my novel device a centripetal separator. The centripetal force involved is described in standard reference works. Apart from theoretical considerations, it is a fact that when a mixture of liquids, or a suspension of a solid in a liquid, has passed the deflector device herein disclosed. an etl'ectivc separation takes place.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a vertical central sectional view, with parts in side elevation, of a separating device constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of part of the structure shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal view, partly in section taken substantially on the line 33, Fig. 2; Fig. 4. is a vertical central sectional view of the deflector portion of the device, and Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken substantially on the line Fig. l.

In the drawing the numeral indicates a supply pipe through which the fluid mixture to be separated is supplied under pressure. The pipe 2 is provided with a valve 3 and is connected by means of fittings t and 5 to a short vertical pipe (3, the upper end of which is screw-threaded and is received in a threaded opening in a plate 7 which forn'is a part of a deflector device, the construction of which will be described in detail below. A vertical pipe 8, which may be of any desired height, receives the fluid from the top of the deflector and extends upwardly to a separating head indicated generally by the numeral 9. The pipe 8 increases in diameter upwardly in order to facilitate the separating action. The entire device is mounted upon a support 10 which may be secured to a floor, table or the like by means of bolts 11. A casing 12 surrounds the vertical pipe 8 and supports a top plate 13 upon which rests the separating head construction. The support 10 and the casing 12 are shown as being hollow conical enclosures, but they may. if desired. consist merely of bars or the like since their function is merely to support the other parts of the. device.

The defle'tor consists of an upwardly tapering casing 15 having lower and upper flanges 16 and 17 which are respectively secured b means of bolts 18 to the plate 7 and to a flange 19 which is carried by a fixed.

annular bracket 20. The casing 15 is internally screw threaded to receive the threaded lower end of a :Erusto-conical deli ctormember 21, in the sides of which are a series of slots It will be observed that the slots 22 are inclined with respect to the sides 01'. the cone-shaped nleinbcr 2i and are also inclined. With respect to the horizontal radii 01 this member, the letter deflection, in his case,

being; as best shown '1 F1: 7. The lower end of the 8 is screw threaded to ninp' in the flange l9.

you in i iciso which is i to the plate 135.

on the outside of the henor inclined openings nearer the -rtical axis of the pipe the head 26 than the openings 31. two series of openings therefore provide means for removing t to n'isterials of ditl'erent specific gravity which have been separated from each other by he whirling move ment set up by the doil ctor device. The openings 31 discharge m 0 an enclosure While the openings 32 dis hargc into an enclosure 36. The enclosures 3F and are provided with spouts 3? and 38, respectively through which the separated products are discharged into suitable containers. VJhen mixtures containing hydrocarbons are sepa- "atcd in this manner, the products nny be discharged directly from the spouts 3 and 38 into vessels containing Water or solutions of acids or allralies such as are used in treating hydrocarbon oils.

Means are preferably pr vided for con trolling the etlectire areas of the openings 3' and 32. One simple arrangement for this purpose is shown in the drawing and consists of perforated plates 4: and 1-1 which rest upon the upper surfaces of the shoulders 29 and 30, respectively, and may be secured thereon by means is screw bolts which OZh'CllLl through curved slots 4-3 in the plates 10 and ll as shown on Fig. 3, and into the s-rew threaded openings in the shoulders 29 and 30. The pertora ions in the plates 45:0 and a l are similar in number arrangement to the discharge openings &1 may be prois engaged by 5-3.1v and 'l he plates s0 and ruled rith toothed segments ars it) which are ctllllQQl by rods ll having hand Wheels 48 secured to their outer ends. 3y turning the hand Wheels l8, the plates to i r 11 H qt 1 1: 01 t;

lo Slit. i. may do uLL IU... cc 0 uIAH G lie ellectlre size of the openings 31 and 32.

In the operation of the apparatus defluid mniturc containing 1 the casin This action may be said to transt rm the pressure head under Wnich the fluid is supplied into a velocity heath or, in other worth, the fluid is caused to Whirl around its re iical axis oi upiard 1 at a speed c' .nncnsurate with the :c at which the hut is supplied. The ilolc mixture ti on ascends into the flaring pipe The whirling i'uo'venient of the mixtures cont ucs as the mixture ri: in the pi l .mid the fractions ot the inixtur are into annuh ia g'cm which issue c opcniz 3i and on and are discharged from the :-ip1'i;-u'atus throitigh the spouts 37 and 38. it will be noted particularly that no mo. 'hggarts upon the fluid that is JQlHQ' separate; but, on the contrary, the rotary movement of the ,iuid is produced solely by the inclination. of the slots 22 in the deflector.

The pressure under which the mixed fluids are delivered to the deflector will necessarily vary for diiiercnt materials, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to any ange ot' 'eisure except that the lower limit of presis that which for zany given mixture, wil produce separation of the constituents instead of more agitation and mixing.

I have she in and described the structure which l now ureter to employ in carrying out my invention. It will be understood, however, that many changes in the construction a nd arrangement of parts may be'made Without departing from my invention as set forth in the appended claims. It will also be understood that my invention is not restricted to the treatment of any particular fluid mixture, but is of general ap Jlic-ation and may be used tor se arating, the fractions of any fluid mixture containing materials of ditlerent specific'gravities Whether.

the iidividual fractions are solids, liquids or I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus'tor separating theconst-ituents of fluid mixtures comprising a vertical tubeof upwardly increasingdiameter, neans for supplying fluid to the lower end of said tube, means for causing said fluid before entering said tube to rotate around the vertical axis of said tube, and means for removing the separated materials from the upper end of said tube.

2. Apparatuslor separating the constituents ot' fluid mixtures comprising a casing of upwardly decreasing diameter, a :trustoconical deflector member disposed Within loo said casing, and having radially inclined slots formed in its sides, and a tubular memher for receiving the fluid from said de- Hector.

3. Apparatus for separating the constituents of fluid mixtures comprising a casing of progressively decreasing diameter, a frnsto-conical deflector member disposed within said casing and having radially inclined slots formed in its sides, and a tube of progressively increasing diameter for receiving the fluid from said deflector.

t. Apparatus for separating the COllStitlb ents of fluid mixtures con'iprising a vertical trusto-conical casing of upwardly decreasing diameter, a stationary trusto-conical de flector disposed within said casing and having slots formed in its sides, the said slots being inclined both lengthwise and radially, means for supplying fluid under pressure to the interior of said deflector member, and a vertical pipe connected to receive fluid from the upper end of said casing.

5. Apparatus for separating the constituents ot' fluid mixtures comprising a vertical trnsto-conical casing of upwardly decreasing diameter, a stationary frusto-eonical deflector disposed within said casing and having slots formed in its sides, the said slots being inclined both lengthwise and radially, means for supplying fluid under pressure to the interior of said deflector, a vertical pipe connected to receive fluid from the upper end of said casing, the said pipe being of upwardly increasing diameter, and means at the upper end of said vertical pipe for separately removing the constituents of said mixture.

6. Apparatus for separating the constituents of fluid mixtures comprising a vertical frusto-conical casing of upwardly decreasing diameter, a stationary frusto-conieal deflector disposed within said casing and having slots formed in its sides, the said slots being inclined both lengthwise and radially, means for supplying fluid under pressure to the interior of said deflector member, a ver tical pipe connected to receive fluid from the upper end of said casing, the said pipe being of upwardly increasing diameter, means at the upper end of said vertical pipe for separately removing the constituents of said mixture, the said means comprising a head having hollow converging walls and connected to the upper end of said vertical pipe, external shoulders formed on the walls of said head, discharge openings extending through said shoulders and communicating with the interior of said head at diflerent distances from the central vertical axis of said head, means for varying the eti'ective size of said openings, and means for collecting and discharging the materials issuing from said openings.

7. Apparatus for separating the constitu cnts of fluid mixtures comprising a casing of progressively decreasing diameter, a frustoconical deflector member disposed within said casing and having radially inclined slots formed in its sides, and a tube for receiving the fluid from said deflector.

8. Apparatus :for separating the constituents oit' fluid mixtures comprising a casing of progressively decreasing diameter, a trusto-conieal deflector member disposed within said casing and having radially inclined slots formed in its sides, and a tube for receiving the fluid from said deflector, the said tube being provided with a plurality of radially spaced outlets at a point removed troin that at which the fluid enters it.

In testimony whereof I, the said Gnonon L. FOGLER, have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE L. FOGLER. 

